He's in Detective Conan, and he's the mastermind behind everything.

"I know, I'm just feeling a bit sentimental."

Ai Haibara's voice was muffled: "The shadow that had loomed over my heart for thirteen years suddenly disappeared for a few days. Now his life is hanging in the balance, and I've escaped the organization in a way I never imagined before. It just feels like life is so unpredictable."

"His fate is unknown?"

Ying Sheng asked curiously, "How badly was he injured? It was too dark at the ambush site for us to confirm."

Ai Haibara shook her head: "I'm not too sure about the physical aspects, but the most fatal thing is that he was shot in the right temple. Sigh, I don't know how he managed to make it to the research institute."

"hiss--!"

Ying Sheng exclaimed, "It really was a close call! What a pity!"

Chapter 225 A Twist of Fate? Vermouth's Betrayal!

Ying Sheng shook his head again: "Based on my deduction of Gin's height and gait, I was aiming for his forehead. Even if there was any killing intent leaked out, it would only be for the moment when I pulled the trigger. The fact that he was able to turn his head and dodge the fatal blow is really unfair."

Ai Haibara sighed softly: "You're amazing too. I've never seen Gin injured so badly before. It's still uncertain whether he'll survive."

correct. "

She glanced at the two people opposite her with suspicion: "Did one of you deliberately aim at his lower body? His legs are almost completely mangled."

Ying Sheng's eyes lit up, and he turned to give Xiao Lan a thumbs up: "As expected, Xiao Lan, you have the most hits! If you can beat him into a wheelchair, that would be amazing."

"How can there be..."

Xiao Lan scratched her ear awkwardly and whispered, "Besides, wouldn't it be better if he died?"

"..."

Ai Haibara remained silent. She was already utterly shocked by Ran's behavior, and now this girl was saying such harsh words in such a soft tone...

Haha, this world has really gone awry.

Ying Sheng shook his head and looked at Junelek, who was trying to keep his presence to himself: "How is the organization's medical technology? Will Gin die like that?"

After a moment's thought, Junairik hesitated and said, "It still depends on the specific location and angle of the bullet's entry; it's impossible to be completely certain. However, since he managed to make it to the research institute, his brain may not have suffered too much damage, so his chances of survival are relatively high."

"Tsk, he's really tough."

Ying Sheng sighed: "After he made it to the research institute, did he say anything to you?"

Junelek shook his head: "No, he was barely holding on at that time, and didn't say a word. It was Vodka carrying Gin, breaking the glass, injuring Shinichi Kudo, rushing to the outside of the research room to glance over there, and then letting Sherry..."

"Um, have Ai contact her sister."

Ying Sheng turned her head.

Ai Haibara's eyes dimmed: "I just called my sister, and then there was an explosion, followed by a gunshot, and the call was cut off."

I was a little stunned when Vodka shouted "Big Brother!" I looked up at him and saw that Gin had already passed out silently.

Vodka said there was someone behind this, and we weren't allowed to go anywhere until the matter was investigated.

Especially me, Shinichi Kudo, and Kiyoko Yukimatsu—he had all three of us locked up.

However, apart from me, the other two were unconscious. Shinichi Kudo was also shot and was probably taken to the infirmary for house arrest. Kiyoko Yukimatsu knows disguise, so she probably slipped away when the guards weren't looking.

Ying Sheng's heart stirred slightly, but how come the situation seems to have improved again?

"What happened after Yukimatsu Kiyoko disguised you in the confinement room?" Hotaru asked again.

Ai Haibara said, "The disguise was only just beginning when there was a loud noise outside. She stopped and went out to take a look, then quickly returned. She immediately tore off my previous disguise, gave me a new one, unlocked my handcuffs, and took me to the solitary confinement cell closest to the crossroads."

While the outer perimeter members were firing heavily, she also took the opportunity to fire three shots at me.

Ai Haibara reached into her pocket, pulled out three brass bullets, and smiled slightly:

"This is it."

Ying Sheng froze, looked at his hands, and wished he could give himself a big punch to wake up: "The fierce firing was the initial submachine gun barrage, right? In other words, you guys were hiding there the whole time, and my smoke grenade actually helped her."

"No, it should be said that it saved me."

Ai Haibara said, "If it weren't for that smoke grenade that gave her a chance to escape, she would have taken advantage of the chaos and used her gunshot wound to kill me before you could search for me. I had a disguise on my face at the time, so I would have died silently."

Ying Sheng shrugged: "But there are too many peripheral members in the organization. If I don't throw that smoke bomb, I won't be able to search them one by one."

“Yes, so it’s both a coincidence and an inevitability.” Ai Haibara paused, then asked doubtfully, “Was that really a smoke bomb? It was incredibly powerful. Kiyoko Yukimatsu took advantage of everyone coughing to quietly carry me away.”

"Um?!"

Xiao Lan was startled and turned to look at Ying Sheng, her face showing shame: "I'm sorry, I didn't notice at all at the time."

Ying Sheng shook his head: "Visibility was zero at the time. That guy was an old hand. There were also coughing and gunshots to cover it up, so I didn't notice him. It's not your fault. Sigh, it's my fault for not being prepared. I should have gotten two infrared goggles."

He couldn't have predicted everything beforehand, especially since the distillery would be so useless without Gin, unable to even keep an ordinary high school girl under its control.

“Let’s continue. What’s next?” Ying Sheng asked.

"Then, as you can see, she put me in the incinerator, saying that she wanted me to die slowly and painfully in the fire, just like my parents."

Ai Haibara's voice was low, but it quickly rose again as she looked up at Ran and smiled.

"Then, Miss Lan arrived."

Xiao Lan smiled and shook her head without saying a word.

This is not her achievement.

Ying Sheng asked curiously, "How did she know that your parents died in the fire?"

Seriously? How can Vermouth be so patient?

Even after avenging a great grudge, he doesn't reveal his identity?

That would greatly diminish the enjoyment.

Or perhaps she was worried that if she told the truth, Shirley might tell the others who arrived later?

The risk of his identity being exposed, the thrill of revenge, and the pain of making Sherry die.

After weighing these three factors, she chose the current path.

Given Shirley's previous condition, she would have almost certainly not survived without APTX-4869.

pity.

Only Vermouth at the distillery knew what state Shirley was in at the time; otherwise, they might have been able to substitute a charred female corpse by the river.

"Your parents were my parents' research assistants. They probably revealed that to Kiyoko Yukimatsu by accident."

Haibara sighed, "Your parents conducted drug modification experiments on Kiyoko Yukimatsu, and with great success. All of her physical test data are significantly higher than normal, which is why she can move more nimbly in the smoke."

Ying Sheng nodded thoughtfully. It was expected that Shirley would come to this conclusion since she didn't know Vermouth's true identity.

But Gin and Vodka probably knew, and there should be others in the hierarchy who were aware of it as well.

The original plan was to make Kiyoko Vermouth's alter ego, which involved having Kiyoko switch places with Vermouth after the dump truck incident, thus proving the truth to those in the know.

but now……

He and Xiaolan stormed into the research institute to rescue her. The incident happened suddenly, and Vermouth could not immediately return to the place where she had been held captive. At that time, Rum had already decisively ordered a retreat, and there was a high probability that he would find that Vermouth had disappeared.

So, combining this incident with Sherry's escape, what conclusion would the brewery draw?

Has Vermouth betrayed us?

Chapter 226 Ai Haibara will never be alone

If Vermouth wants to prove her innocence, she has to tell the truth about what happened before. It is unknown what her exact position is in the organization, but since she couldn't openly kill Sherry before, she probably wouldn't dare to say anything about doing this behind her back now.

Logically speaking, she should have stopped immediately and protected Shirley.

Unfortunately, human reason is not always reliable.

Moreover, Vermouth had already stabbed Sherry in the face, which undoubtedly created a deadly feud; besides, given the previous medication and the brief moment of mental breakdown and fainting, it's hard to say whether she was fully conscious at that time.

In short, that's how it happened.

Judging from Vermouth's murder of Sherry, she was definitely not 100% loyal to the organization. Therefore, when she was highly likely to be suspected by the organization, her choice seemed obvious.

get away.

Whether it's a complete betrayal is hard to say, but at least one should put oneself outside the organization's control, and then try to atone for one's sins and repair the relationship with the organization.

With her skills in disguise, it's not entirely impossible that she could easily change her appearance and then completely abandon the distillery to live a carefree life.

Thinking of this, Ying Sheng asked, "Ai, you just said that Vermouth wouldn't help you. Is she very loyal to the organization?"

Ai Haibara shook her head: "It's for other reasons, I..."

She was naturally referring to the feud between their parents. Ying Sheng pretended to be hearing about it for the first time, and after thinking for a moment, asked:

"Given her abilities as the Thousand-Faced Witch, she should have no shortage of opportunities to kill you, and she could easily have faked it as an accident. Why hasn't she made a move against you yet?"

Ai Haibara frowned and pondered for a moment: "It is said that she has a close relationship with the Boss, perhaps she is truly loyal to the organization."

"Very close?"

Ying Sheng also frowned. It had already been proven that Vermouth was not absolutely loyal to the organization, so the so-called "close relationship" was probably quite weak.

"Husband and wife? Lovers? Daughter? Mother?"

"...I don't know about that."

Hotaru mainly wanted to determine whether Vermouth would want to return to the brewery, but he had no idea. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Ai, I'm planning to expose your whereabouts to the organization. Do you have any suitable places?"

At the same time, the main purpose was to expose the news that Sherry was not dead to Vermouth. Whether out of hatred for Sherry or to give the brewery an explanation, Vermouth would most likely take action because of this.

"Are you trying to set a trap?" Ai Haibara asked.

Ying Sheng nodded: "Of course, and you should know the story of the boy who cried wolf. If you appear a few more times now, even if you are accidentally discovered later, they will at least suspect that it is a trap. In addition, since you have miraculously turned into a child, the winery's suspicion of you will probably decrease even more."

Ai Haibara hesitated for a few moments before asking, "Why did you do this?"

"Because I am a messenger of justice."

"...I'm serious."